Want to use the best video platform YouTube, because you want to promote your channel or your business whether through organic way or through YouTube advertising? 

Great!

But here to you my question is what is your expectation? Do you want to get results fast? 

Then without any doubt, you’ve to go with the YouTube ads to accomplish your goal. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that advertising is the best way to promote your business or brand and organic way or I can say YouTube SEO is not. There’s nothing like the ultimate best ways. 

What is your intention, strategy or goal? It all depends on those. 

When someone wants to get results fast, he/she can’t wait for a long time to get results on YouTube, like yourself, then definitely YouTube advertising would be the best choice for that person. 

Still have any doubts? Wondering whether you should invest in YouTube ads? Then look at these stats:

Statistics About YouTube 

  • Launched in 2005, bought by Google in 2006, YouTube is the second most visited website on the internet only after its parent company Google.
    This means, audiences frequently visit this popular video platform for everything from education to entertainment than other video streaming sites or apps.

According to the statistics, more than 122 million people visit everyday via it’s site and app. 

  • As of 2023, YouTube has over 2.68 billion active users worldwide.
  • In the previous year, 2021, YouTube’s global ad revenues were $28 billion USD. That’s up 46% from the previous year. That means, there are many businesses, brands investing millions of dollars on this platform.
  • 70% of buyers basically purchase a product or service as a result of noticing that on YouTube ads.

So, these are some of the stats related to YouTube and YouTube advertising.

All of these are actually an indication of how great it would be to invest on YouTube advertisements if your targeted audiences are there. And also if your strategy or goal or intention resonates with this platform.

Reasons To Know About This

  • But, it’s very common sense that most of your competitors already know about all of these. 

So, it’s clear like a sunny summer sky that there is a great level of competition on YouTube. 

That’s why it is very important to run your campaign in the correct way. Otherwise, you’ll not be able to stand out from the crowd.

And because of that you wouldn’t be able to get your desired results by running a YouTube ad campaign.

  • There is another reason to know the types of ads and that is that if you don’t know about the types of ad formats, then in the meantime maybe you’ll choose the wrong ad type. 

Because of that your campaign may NOT become a successful one.

Choose The Right Ad Format

When you’re running an ad campaign then you need to choose the right type of ad format for you. But you couldn’t be able to do so if you don’t get the proper knowledge about the video ad formats.

Many newbies do this thing and later they say that YouTube ads don’t work. 

No man, it works. 

But like everything, you’ve to first learn that thing before doing that.

Right of the bat, if you just jump into that without learning anything or without giving any thoughts you’ll face failure, no one can save you

(But if you got lucky or God bless you and ultimately able to have the success crown without knowing anything, that’s another story)

Hence, this is very necessary to get it right! You need to know about YouTube advertisements and its various formats very deeply. 

That’s why in this blog, now I’m going to share about the 6 different types of YouTube ads formats which will help you to promote your channel or business or brand or startup effectively.

But before that, come, let’s know what the YouTube advertising really is.

Otherwise, it would be very odd to just proceed further while you don’t even have a clean and clear idea about YouTube advertising.

That is why, we’ve to know about YouTube advertising before discussing the types of YouTube campaigns first.

What Is YouTube Advertising?

YouTube advertising means to promote your product or service on this video-sharing platform through advertising. 

This feature actually allows brands or businesses or individual content creators to reach a large & diverse audience on the second largest social media channel.

And also the second most visited website on the internet, which is YouTube.

6 Different Types Of YouTube Advertising Formats

Now finally, it’s time to dig down a little bit deeper into the different types of YouTube ads.

Here, I’ll discuss current YouTube video ad formats. 

In recent years, we have seen a lot of changes have already happened on YouTube and some changes are in their way. 

Through these changes, YouTube has become really different from its previous version in many directions. So, it’s no brainer that YouTube advertisements also changed a lot.

There were some ad formats that existed in the past but were turned down by YouTube for many reasons. And some are being added recently.

Ad Types And Their Meaning

So, I know, I’ve already talked a lot, and now without further ado let’s sink our teeth into this…

Type of ads                           Meaning
Skippable in-stream adsIf you can skip a YouTube ad after 5 seconds by clicking “Skip ads” button then that ad type is basically Skippable in-stream ad
Non-skippable in-stream adsNon-skippable in-stream ads are those which basically appear before, during and after the videos and you can not skip this type of ads
In-feed video adsAds which mainly appear on the YouTube video feed or YouTube search result page or in the related videos or on the YouTube homepage of mobile devices with thumbnail from that video and some text, those ads are basically called In-feed video ads
Bumper adsAds which are unskippable, 6 seconds or shorter in length, play before, during and at the end of other videos, are called Bumper ads
Outstream adsOutstream ads are the type of ads which are not available on YouTube, mobile only ads and only play on apps or websites running on Google video partners. This type of ads you can see on various mobile placements such as interstitials, native, banners, fullscreen, in-feed and portrait modes.
Masthead adsMasthead ads appear on the top of the YouTube home feed (m.youtube.com Home feed or YouTube app’s home feed) and play automatically without any sound for up to 30 seconds.
Remember, this type of ad is only available through a Google sales representative on a reservation basis.

Now let’s discuss all of these types of ads in detail. Just continue to read thoroughly.

Skippable In-Stream Ads

Our first type of video ad format is skippable in-stream ads.

Most of the videos on YouTube have this type of ads and probably, if I am not wrong, these are the ones you’ve seen the most.

These ads are basically played before, during and at the very end of the video.

So in particular, if you can skip a YouTube ad after 5 seconds then that ad type is basically Skippable in-stream ad.

When this type of ads appears on the screen, then after 5 seconds the viewer can skip the ad by clicking on the “Skip ads” button, placed in the bottom right corner of the ad.

You can use Skippable in-stream ads when you’d like to promote a video content of yours before, during, after other YouTube videos and across other websites and apps which are running on Google video partners.

Here you can extension (like lead form or a site’s link) or a product feed to influence conversions.

Some recommendations:

Video length: 3 minutes maximum, 12 seconds minimum

Video dimensions: 640 x 360 (360p), 1280 x 720 (720p), 854 x 480 (480p), 426 x 240 (240p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p)

Aspect ratio: 16:9

Maximum file size: 128GB

Video formats: MP4, WMV, MOV, MPEGPS, MPEG4, FLV, 3GPP, WebM, AVI

List of goals to select: 

  • Reach and brand awareness
  • Website traffic
  • Sales
  • Product and brand consideration
  • Leads

The way you’ll be charged: 

With CPV bidding, when a viewer watches 30 seconds of a video ad of yours you’ll pay or if the video ad is shorter than 30 seconds and the viewer watches the entire video or interacts (like any clicks) with your video.

On the other hand, with targeted CPM, targeted CPA and Maximize conversions bidding, you pay for every impression. 

✴️Note: 

If you choose “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance” in Google Ads then also you can use bumper ads.

Non-Skippable In-Stream Ads

Non-skippable in-stream ads are kind of the same as skippable in-stream ads. This type of ads also appear before, during and at the end of other videos.

But the twist here is that viewers can’t skip the video ad of yours.

In a few words we can say that Non-skippable in-stream ads are those which basically appear before, during and after the videos and you can not skip this type of ads.

When you want viewers to understand the entire message which you want to convey through your video ad without skipping, then you should use the No-skippable video ad.

Like Skippable in-stream ads, here also you can extension (like lead form or a site’s link) or a product feed to influence conversions.

Some recommendations:

Video length: Maximum 15 seconds 

Video dimensions: 640 x 360 (360p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 3840 x 2160 (2160p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 426 x 240 (240p) and 2560 x 1440 (1440p)

Aspect ratio: 16:9

Maximum file size: 128GB

Video formats: .MPEG4, MP4, .MPEGPS, MOV, .FLV, 3GPP,  .AVI, .WMV, and WebM.

Goal to select: 

Reach and brand awareness

The way you’ll be charged: 

Here this type of ads basically use target CPM bidding, so you only have to pay for impressions.

✴️Note: 

  • If you choose “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance” in Google Ads then also you can use bumper ads.
  • Some of the bumper ads may appear on the YouTube TV app, but it depends whether you are eligible or not.

In-feed Video Ads

You may have already noticed that some YouTube ads appear on the YouTube search result page, in the related videos or on the YouTube homepage of mobile.

This ad type is called In-feed video ads.

In-feed video ads smartly showcase your brand in front of your audiences. Wondering how?

They identify correctly what your targeted audience is watching and place your ads strategically in their YouTube feeds so that the audience can easily find your brand and you get the utmost results possible.

This type of video ad always contains thumbnails of the videos and some text.

This YouTube video ad type always invites viewers to click and watch the video. Then it plays on the YouTube watch page or channel home page. 

Now if you want to know about the exact size and appearance of the ad, then I would say that this may vary based on where it appears.

So basically, ads which mainly appear on the YouTube video feed or YouTube search result page are In-feed video ads.

Not only that, ads that appear in the related videos or on the YouTube homepage of mobile devices with thumbnail from that video and some text, those ads are basically called In-feed video ads.

You can use this type of video ads when you want to promote your video content in discovery, next to related YouTube videos, as a part of search result or on the YouTube mobile homepage.

In this type of video ad you can add extensions (like lead form or a site’s link) or a product feed to influence conversions.

Some recommendations:

Video length recommendation: Maximum 12 seconds

Goal to select: 

Product and brand consideration

The way you’ll be charged:  

When viewers choose to watch your video by clicking the thumbnail of your video only then you’ll be charged. 

✴️Note 

If you choose “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance” in Google Ads then also you can use bumper ads.

Bumper Ads

Bumper ads play before, during and after other videos, when videos are over. 

If you choose this ad type then you’ll only have 6 seconds to deliver your fantastic, memorable short message. Viewers can’t skip this type of video ad.

Hence, ads which are unskippable, 6 seconds or shorter in length, play before, during and at the end of other videos, are called Bumper ads. 

And the same scenario is here, you can add extensions (like lead form or a site’s link) or a product feed to influence conversions also.

Some recommendations:

Video length recommendation: Maximum 6 seconds

Recommended video dimensions: 640 x 360 (360p), 426 x 240 (240p),1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p), 1280 x 720 (720p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p), 854 x 480 (480p), 3840 x 2160 (2160p)

Aspect ratio: 16:9

Max file size: 1GB 

Accepted video formats: MP4, .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, 3GPP, WebM., .MPEGPS, .FLV, .MPEG4, 

The way you’ll be charged: 

You’ll have to pay based on impressions, because this type of video ad uses target CPM bidding.

✴️Note: 

If you choose “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance” in Google Ads then also you can use bumper ads.

Some of the bumper ads may appear on the YouTube TV app, but it depends whether you are eligible or not.

Outstream Ads

You may find this odd, but this is the fact that although Outstream ads are a type of YouTube advertisement but these are not available on YouTube. 

Yes! You heard it right.

This type of ads are mobile-only ads and only play on apps or websites running on Google video partners. You can see these ads in various mobile placements, such as interstitials, native, banners, fullscreen, in-feed and portrait modes.

Some recommendations:

The way you’ll be charged:

Here you’ll pay based on viewable cost-per-thousand-impressions (vCPM). So, basically, when a viewer plays your video ad for 2 seconds or more, you’ll be charged.

Masthead Ads

Masthead ads appear on the top of the YouTube home feed (m.youtube.com Home feed or YouTube app’s home feed). This type of ads play automatically without any sound for up to 30 seconds.

But if you ever want to go with this Masthead ads campaign then keep in mind that you can not choose this type of ad on Google ads.

Only through Google’s sales representative Masthead ads are available.

How does masthead ads really work?

Now when we are discussing masthead ads in detail then something you need to know. And that is how this ad format really works.

On desktop, at the top of YouTube home feed a featured video in this type of ad without any sound for up to 30 seconds. Masthead ads can appear in 16:9 aspect ratio format.

This includes an informational panel which automatically uses assets from your YouTube channel. In this panel you can add up to 2 companion videos optionally.

After the video, it defaults to the thumbnail of that video. When people choose to click on the thumbnail or the video then they’re taken to the YouTube watch page.

On mobile, without any sound the featured video in a masthead ad auto plays for the full duration of the video at the top of the m.youtube.com or YouTube home feed.

Masthead ad provides you with features like customizable headline, description texts, a thumbnail of the video and also an external call-to-action (CTA).

In the case of mobile, masthead ads also pull in the channel icon and channel name from the advertiser’s channel. 

When a user clicks on the masthead ad video then for the featured video the ad will exit to the YouTube watch page.

And on the tv, where supported, at the top of the YouTube apps for TVs without any sound a featured video in a masthead ad auto plays for the full duration of the video.

This type of ad can appear in 16:9 aspect ratio format or in the wide screen.

Here by using a TV remote to interact with the ad. After autoplay, the video then defaults to the thumbnail.

User’s are taken to the YouTube watch page for the video to watch full screen when they click on the video or its thumbnail.

Some recommendations:

Resolution: 1920 x 1080 or higher

Headline: 23 characters

Description: Up to 62 characters

CTA button: 10 characters or less

Buying models: CPM (reserve with Google representative) or Cost-per-day (CPD)

The way you’ll be charged:

In this case, you’ll have to pay on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis, because only on a reservation basis masthead ads are available.

Conclusion

Now that you know all the types of YouTube ad campaign, you can choose whichever ad format suits you to do YouTube advertising. 

But there isn’t anything like this ad type is the best and this is not so good. YouTube is not crazy.

They introduce these ad types to us, there must be some reason and that reason is that these ad formats really work for each and every brands, businesses, startups and even for individual content creators. 

Therefore, when choosing a YouTube video ad campaign first look at the goal of yours.

If you want to deliver a shorter message then go with the bumper ads or non-skippable in-stream ads and otherwise choose other types of ad formats. 

But here my advice is that whatever you choose, choose wisely otherwise you may not be able to get a high level of results and there’s a chance that you may end up gaining next to nothing.

You don’t want that right? 

That’s why it is very important to first understand every type of YouTube ad campaign (this is where this blog article comes into play).

And then when choosing an ad campaign in Google ads you’ve to really look deep into your goal, what you want to accomplish.

So, I hope this content really helps you out. If you follow this article then you’ll get a farm idea about YouTube advertising and can accomplish your campaign goal.